Brake mechanism.



PATENTED NOV. 2l, 1905.

C. D. THOMAS.

BRAKE MEGHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 1, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented NOV. .21` 1905.

Application iiled November 1, 1904. Serial No. 230,964.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAssIUs D. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Moberly, in the county of'Randolph and State of Missouri,have invented vnew and useful Improvements in Brake Mechanism, of whichthe following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to certain new and useful improvements in brakemechanisms for cars, the object in view being to provide a novel andimproved construction of brake mechanism which insures economy ofequipment and maintenance, efficiency in operation, and affords readyfacility for repairs and substitution of new for imperfect and wornout`parts.

With this and other objects in view the invention consists of thefeatures of construction, combination, and arrangement of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which` Figure 1 is a perspective view of abrake mechanism embodying my invention, one pair of brake-heads beingdetached from their actuating-levers. Fig. 2.-is a cross-section throughthe plank or beam and one of the supporting-brackets on which oppositelevers of the sets of levers for actuating the brake-heads are pivotallymounted, and Fig. 3 is a de`tail view of the operating or powerapplyinglever.

The numeral 1 in the drawings represents a spring-plank orsupporting-beam which, as as shown, is formed of channel-iron, but maybe of any improved form and construction and composed of metal, wood, ora composite structure, as desired. The brake-heads 2 are arranged inpairs upon opposite sides of this beam, and the alining heads of theopposite pairs are movably mounted at the ends thereof upon pivotedhangers. In the present instance I have shown in the drawings onebrake-head of each sethnamely, those arranged upon opposite sides of andat one end of the beam l-this illustration being suflicient for acomplete disclosure of the principles of the invention. The hangers 3permit the heads 2 and their shoes to have proper movement toward andfrom the carwheels and adapt them to have sufficient independent play toconform thereto under varying resistance.

On opposite sides of the beam are two sets of brake-levers A and B, thelevers 9 and 10 of the set A being normally arranged at an angle to thebeam 1 with their inner ends projecting at a greater distance therefromand pivotally connected to a fulcrum 12, provided at its forward endwith spaced ears 13, receiving an operating thrust-lever 14, havinganopening 15 therein, through which passes a .bolt 16 to pivotally connectit to said ears. As shown, the fulcrum 12 is provided with a centralslot, opening through the sides and rear end thereof to receive theinner and forward ends of the levers 9 and 10, which are pivoted thereinupon the pivot-bolts 9 and 10', which project through said fulcrum. Thelevers 17 and 18 of the set B on the opposite or rear side of the beam 1are arranged in a manner similar to the levers 9 and 10, eX- cept thatthe inner ends thereof proj ect rearwardly at a corresponding angle andare pivotally mounted upon a fulcrum 12', formed with a slotcorresponding to that in the fulcrum 12 and provided with pivot-bolts 17and 18, to which the said inner ends of the levers 17 and 18 arepivotally connected. From the rear end of the fulcrum 12 project ears19, forming a space to receive the rear end of a bottom rod or bar 20,which is pivotally mounted upon a bolt 21, extending through said ears,and is curved downwardly and forwardly to project beneath the beam 1 toa point in advance thereof and has its forward end terminating in abifurcated or forked eX- tension 21, the arms of which are formed withopenings 22 for the passage of a pivotbolt 23, which bolt 23 extendsthrough an opening 24 in the lower end of the operatinglever 14 andpivotally secures the same between the arms. The lever 14 is in the formof a float-lever eccentrically mounted, the opening 15, through whichits pivot 16 eX- tends, being disposed below its center and closer toits inner and lower end, which is pivotally connected by the bolt 24 tothe forked end 21 of the fulcrum-bar 20. The upper and forward end ofthe lever 14 is provided with an elongated slot 25, by which it maybe'loosely and pivotally connected to an operating part.

The opposite levers of the two sets A and B are supported from thespring plank or beam y 1 by carrier-brackets 26, each of which maycomprise two plates or bars 27 and 28, arranged in parallel relation andfastened by the bolts 29 to the bodyportion of the beam 1. The ends ofthe bottom plate 28 are offset, as shown at 30, to space the same fromthe ends of the plate 27, and thus provide the bracket IOO TIC

with forked terminals to receive the levers, which are pivotally mountedtherein upon the bolts 31, passing through registering apertures 32 inthe two plates. instead of making the bracket 26 of two parts saidbracket may be of one single piece cast of malleable iron or steel. Thisconstruction of brackets permits the same to be readily and convenientlydisconnected from the beam and as readily connected thereto to permit ofthe removal of a worn or broken brake-lever and facilitate theapplication of a new brakelever, the construction being such that thisoperation, as well as all others in the way of repairing or substitutingnew parts for injured or worn-out ones, may be carried out by one manwithout assistance, thus enabling repair work to be accomplished atcomparatively small expense.

The ends of the levers are pivotally connected by pins or bolts 33 andears 34 on the brake-heads 2, so that when the upper and forward end ofthe float-operating lever 14 is forced rearwardly and the brake-leversswung thereby the two sets of heads and shoes on opposite sides of thebeam will be movedin opposite directions to engage opposite wheels uponthe truck of a car. When the lever 14 is operated as above stated, itwill thrust the fulcrum 12 rearwardly, and thus swing the inner ends oflevers 9 and 10 toward the beam 1 and project the outer end thereof andthrust the forward set of heads and shoes forward to engage the wheelsagainst which they are designed to act, and at the same time the bottomrod 20 will be drawn forward to swing the fulcrum 12 inward or towardthe beam 1 to correspondingly swing the inner ends of the levers 17 and18 and project the outer ends to move the opposite or rear set of headsand shoes into engaging relation with another set of wheels. A reversemovement of the lever 14 swings the two sets of brake-levers in theopposite direction, as

will be readily understood, and releases or retracts the brake-heads 2.

It will be observed that the mode of arrangement of the opposite sets ofbrake-levers is such as toform toggles which e'nable high brake-power tobe applied to set the brakeheads 2, and that as the latter are hung fromthe pivoted hangers 3 they have ample freedom of movement to adaptthemselves to variations of resistance upon coming in contact with thewheels, so as to set up an effective brake-pressure. rl`he adjustableconnection of the lever 14 with the curved bottom rod or bar 2O permitsthe applied power to be varied atwill to set the brakes with any degreeof force'desired. Also it will be observed that the arrangement of thebrake-levers effects the application of direct leverage to each separatebrake-head, while the use of the fulcrum 12, which may be termed a twinor duplex fulcrum, as it forms a fulcruni member for the operating-leverand both brake-levers of the set A, enables one live lever to controltwo direct brake-levers. lt will be further observed that each bracket26 terminates in a fulcrum at each end, thus adapting it to support twodirect levers. This is an advantage, as well as the method employed ofconnecting each brake-head to a direct brake-leverby means of a loosepin or pivotal coupling 33. The brake mechanism is especiallyadvantageous in the fact that While it may be used in connection withdead levers the bottom rod or bar 20 obviates the necessity of employingsaid levers and their necessary supports, and said mechanism is furtheradvantageous in the simplicity of its structure and the ease with whicha single workman without assistance may detach and apply any of theparts which require removal from age or injury or have been accidentallybroken and must be removed and new parts substituted therefor. As aresult, economy of equipment and maintenance and safety and efficiencyof operation are insured and the use of parts which are liable to becomedetached and dropdown upon the track-rails entirely avoided. i

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of theinvention will be understood without a further extended description.

Changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction maybe made within the scope of the invention without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Havin@r thus fully described the invention, what is claimed 4as newis- 1. In a brake mechanism, the combination of a support, opposite setsof divergently-arranged brake-levers fulcrumed to said support,brake-heads movably connected with the support and pivotally attached tothe outer ends of the sets of divergent levers, twin fulcrums attachedto the inner ends of the said sets of divergent levers, anoperating-lever pivoted to one of said fulcrums, and a bar or rodpivoted at one end to the other fulcruin and at the opposite end to theoperating-lever.

2. ln a brake mechanism, a supportingbeam, lever-carriers extendingtransversely of the beam and provided with terminal fulcrums at oppositesides thereof, opposite sets of brake-levers mounted upon said terminalfulcrums, a fulcrum-piece pivotally connecting the levers of each set, alever pivotally connected with one of the fulcrum-pieces,and aconnecting member extending transversely of thebeam and pivotallyconnected withsaid lever and the other fulcrum-piece.

3. ln a brake mechanism, two sets of divergent levers, a singleoperating-lever connected to lone set, and a direct connection betweenIOO IOS

IIO

the operating-lever and the other set, whereby the movement of thesingle operating-lever will actuate both sets of brake-levers.

4. In a brake mechanism, a supportingbeam, sets of brake-levers disposedon opposite sides of said beam, means `for directly operating one ofsaid sets of brake-levers, and means extending transversely of said beamand forming a direct operating connection between said means and theother set of brakelevers.

5. Two sets of direct brake-levers, fulcrum devices connecting saidlevers, a bottom bar or rod directly pivoted to one of said ulcrumdevices, and a lever directly pivoted to the other fulcrum device and tothe said bottom bar or rod.

6. In a brake mechanism, a pair of direct brake-levers, anoperating-lever, and a twin fulcrum-block operatively connecting saidlevers.

7. In a brake mechanism,two sets of divergent brake-levers,ulcrum-pieces connecting the levers of each set, anop'erating-leverdirectly connected to one of said fulcrum-pieces, and a rod or bardirectly connecting said lever with the other fulcrum-piece.

8. In a brake mechanism, a Julcrum-block having opposite forkedportions, direct brakelevers pivotallymounted in one of said forkedportions, and an operating-lever pivotally mounted in the other forkedportion.

9. In a brake mechanism, the combination of a support, opposite sets ofdivergent direct brake-levers, twin fulcrum-blocks operativelyconnecting the levers of each set, an operating-lever pivoted to one ofsaid blocks, and a direct connection between said lever and the otherblock.

In testimony whereof I afBX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CASSIUS D. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

S. M. THOMAS, M. E. THOMAS.

